REPLACED from Sad Cat Studios will launch on March 12, 2026, and the studio confirmed the date as it closes out a multi-year development run that began with the game’s 2021 reveal. The team pushed the project back in 2023 to buy more time for polish, and that delay is documented in a Steam news post about the development timeline and the studio’s decision to refine core systems.
Sad Cat Studios described the main character’s animation work as particularly painstaking and wrote that “The main character in REPLACED has more than 500 meticulously hand-painted animations made just for platforming.” Players control an artificial intelligence trapped inside a human body as it fights through a neon-soaked, corporate-controlled city to expose the secrets of the Phoenix Corporation. The game blends 2D animation with 3D object movement and cinematic camera angles to create a layered 2.5D presentation.
Visually the team leaned on hand-painted frames and modern lighting to give each set piece detail, while the audio mixes synth-driven atmospherics with tighter combat and movement cues to match the platforming pace. A 13-minute gameplay overview released last year shows extended platforming segments and the transitions between play and cinematic moments that Sad Cat emphasized during development.
On PC the game will arrive on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG. Console release covers Xbox Series X and S, and REPLACED will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. Angel notes that the release cadence mirrors how several recent indie platformers handled long development cycles and multiple storefront launches, and the focus on frame-by-frame animation gives REPLACED a distinct look compared with many contemporary indie releases.
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Replaced
Developed by Sad Cat Studios
